Full text: An epic Bill Gates e-mail rant — Sometimes, software isn't so magical. Even for Bill Gates. — For the opening piece in our series on Gates leaving daily life at Microsoft, one goal was to give a clear picture of the Microsoft co-founder's role inside the company, as a gauge of the impact his departure will have.

BlackBerry Bold delayed on AT&T until at least mid-August! — We know what you're thinking... but this is for reals! We've just confirmed this now with two high-level sources: the Bold is actually delayed until August on AT&T. It seems like AT&T and RIM are still having software issues with battery life and overheating.

Farewell then, Symbian — Epoc's journey: from world-beater to basket case — The smart in smartphone disappeared — The smartphone wars once devoured a great deal of attention and energy, particularly during the long PR war that took place in the first four barren years …

Welcoming Bijan and Jeff — We're happy to announce two new members of our investment team: Bijan Sabet with Spark Capital in Boston and Jeff Bezos of Bezos Expeditions in Seattle. Bijan has also accepted a seat on our board of directors. We're looking forward to the guidance and advice both will bring to Twitter.

Hidden Sex Scenes Draw Ho-Hum, Except From Lawyers — Lawyers who sued the makers of the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas profess to be shocked, simply shocked, that few people who bought the game were offended by sex scenes buried in its software. — Any buyer upset about hidden sex …

Time of iPhone 3G Launch Remains Unclear — Unconfirmed reports claim that the U.S. iPhone launch will take place starting at 8am, July 11th at AT&T stores nationwide. A screenshot posted to our forums claims to depict the actual email sent to AT&T managers.

One open source interface to rule them — isn't about open source's soul, nor is it about making open source comply with closed spectrum's norms. — It's about the search for one great interface. — The iPhone has one great interface, and the margins to go with it.

Multiply: The Social Network That Backs Up Your Media, Too — Multiply, a media-heavy social network geared towards adults, has introduced a new backup system that will backup users' videos and photos at full resolution. The premium service will cost users $20 per year for an unlimited amount of storage.

How the companies line up — We first released our ‘Guide to Greener Electronics’ in August 2006. The guide ranks the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV's and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change.

Android Expectations … More about Google's (and their Android team's) motivation and goals than about specific details of the platform, but interesting. — One thing I should make clear, given some of the email I've gotten this week, is that I'm rooting for Android, big-time.

Is Microsoft accessible without Bill Gates? — Bill Gates spent the last two years slowly disengaging as he prepared for his final departure from Microsoft at the end of this week. In doing so, he appears to have left the company's technical direction in strong hands with Ray Ozzie, Craig Mundie and 22 Technical Fellows.

Kosmix Goes Horizontal — Kosmix, until now a vertical search engine for information about health, automobiles and travel, transformed itself into a universal search engine for all subjects earlier today during a general redesign. — The move has been anticipated since at least last September …

Comcast's goal: Integrate the screens — In the Bay Area for the Connections conference this week, Comcast Interactive Media President Amy Banse stopped by the CNET Webware offices for a discussion on her division's Web strategy. — As was pointed out to me numerous times when I led …

T-Mobile's home phone service goes nationwide — T-Mobile USA plans to announce Wednesday that its new @Home voice service will be available nationwide starting July 2. — The cell phone operator has been testing the new Internet telephony service since February in Dallas and Seattle.